A New Dawn For Runeterra(Revamped)
by Shade0fSilver
Summary: Follow 6 main characters, Azir, Ekko, Xerath, Veigar, Zed, and Aurelion Sol as the sands shift around them. Can Azir bring Shurima back to its former glory? Can Ekko lead Zaun to a greater future? Can Zed find the unbalance he is looking for? Can Aurelion Sol escape the prison Targon has locked him in? Or will something prevent a future for any answers?
1. Ch 1: The introduction

**Author's note: I wish to improve my writing so that it is more entertaining to read, please leave a review if there is grammar or anything you'd like to fix. Thank you for reading!**

 **Revamped.**

Prologue and Introduction to the main characters.

Notice: The introduction to the characters are in first person view, but afterwards the story will be in third person.

Ekko's POV

You know, People always beg for more time. More years in their lives, more days in their years, more hours in their days.

They beg for it. They bargain with it. They don't deserve it.

All that time they spent wasting their lives away and now they beg for more?

What were they doing when they lounged around, aimlessly chatting with others?

Nothing.

What were they doing when the teacher was scribbling words on the chalkboard but they chose to waste the opportunities given to them?

Nothing.

What were they doing when death and poverty come to take the people around them?

Nothing.

And they have the audaciousness to look for time? To ask for redos? No. They don't deserve any time, not even the smallest second.

That's what the Piltover people are.

They walk over us Zaunites because they were born wealthy, or they were born with nobility. They forget that, even if they rule this nation, we are the ones who created. We made their hextech, their money, we gave them their title as the city of progress.

Then when they forget the fact they're just mortal, equal to all in death, they search everywhere for more time. Zilean is basically out of touch, so they search here in Zaun. But all that wealth they were just granted at birth can't buy them their life, all that royalty won't get them off of Death's list, and all that time they spent wasting is nonrefundable.

I've seen the hard work my parents do at a factory all just to bring food home every night. Sometimes I'm the only one who gets to eat.

And you know how the boss, whom of course lives at Piltover, treats them? Like trash that don't deserve a paycheck. Because the police force in Piltover only protect the people in Piltover.

They wish a happy life for me, as they believe I am a bright student with a future to Piltover. No way in hell am I going to Piltover and become a useless fat fuck like the rest of them.

I'm going to reshape Zaun. I will bring a brighter tomorrow so that future generations of Zaun don't have to deal with the pollution that the Piltover dumped on us, so that they don't grow up believing they are inferior to others just because of social status, so that they can be proud to be born in the streets of Zaun.

After all, if I can change the past, an act that the most skilled mages cannot do, how hard can it be to change the future that anyone can change?

Azir's POV.

They say what comes to rise will come to fall. Shurima was no different. Sitting at the pinnacle of power in all of Runeterra, Shurima had washed the entire continent with sand. No one dared to challenge the might Shurima held. I was the emperor, and I was the one who led the country to its greatness.

But I was betrayed by my sworn brother. Xerath had interrupted my ascension and killed me and the rest of the royal in cold blood. Shurima, the empire of Runeterra, was no more. What I had thought was a throne of diamonds and gold was just a throne of glass and sand. The ashes of my empire was indistinguishable from the sand beneath our feet.

What comes to rise will fall? That is true. But that means there is no fall until something rises. And I have risen. Not enough to fall yet, but I will continue to rise.

Shurima, your emperor has returned.

Xerath's POV

Every story needs a villain. I am that villain. I have betrayed my empire and the brother I loved so heavily. Do I have regrets? Yes. Yes I do. Do you think I enjoyed seeing my brother be blown to ashes? Do you think I enjoyed watching the empire I built brick by brick alongside my only family member crumble? I shed more tears on that day than the blood I spilled throughout all my life.

But I fear more of the regret I would feel if I had not done such things. I have no sympathy for a nation built on slavery, on social status. Sure Azir may have freed the slaves, but he did it too late. It was too late, my brother. Now all that millenial of thinking in the prison has led me to pursuit a new dream. I will now no longer accept just freedom, but equality.

As I float towards a gate of a country called Noxus with my companion, Renekton and the one who leads us here, Cassiopeia. 2 guards covered in a multitude of animal skins stop me. They seem unfazed that I am pure arcane energy trapped in a prison, but then again,they are probably used to seeing some strange beings from the exports of Zaun. "We are here to meet Ssssswain." Cassiopeia slithered. They nodded, took a step back, and let us. I admire their lack of fear.

Noxus is a dirty place built on cruelty... but everything is fair here. As long as you have will, you can climb the ladders. Strength is the only thing that matters there. Unlike Demacia, a monarch built on birthright and on your will to die for nation rather than your will to live. They were no more than brainless ants serving their queen. Just like Shurima...

Azir. I know you are back now, but let me warn you. It is not the dawn you see, but a sunset.

Zed's POV

Zed's POV

Balance means more than just light. It means that darkness must exist in this world. I never really understood that until the day my old master invited me destroy the box I stole forbidden techniques from. My master was the leader of an order that bring security and safety to the residents in Ionia...but he was also the master of an organization that was responsible for 90% of all murders and crimes in Ionia. All for the sake of balance. He then asked me to be the new leader of it. The disgust and betrayal I felt towards that man overcame my self control, and so out of pure emotion, I killed him. Shen. Do you know this?

I stop my meditation as the sound of a sweet flute melody fills my ears. That reminded me of something I needed to do, and so I walked towards the room the music was flowing from.

"Yasuo. When do you plan to depart?"

Yasuo opened his eyes, stopped playing and looked up at me.

"Zed. I thank you for allowing me to hide here, I am in your debt. I plan to leave for Zaun tomorrow morning... My pupil has reported hearing Riven's name somewhere there. Riven is probably searching for Singed."

Yasuo and I have the opposite childhoods. He was framed for killing his master while I would've loved if someone else killed mine. Even so, we both knew the pain of betrayal, and so we got along nicely.

I lean my back against the wall. "Do you plan to forgive her?" I ask. Yasuo looked down at his blade and his sheath. "I... will find my answer when I meet her."

I nodded. This was a personal matter, I should not prod any further. "Yasuo, I plan to accompany you. To Zaun."

He looked up questionably. "Zed, you've already done so much for me, there is no need to-"

I cut him off. "This is not for your sake. There is someone there I must speak to."

Yasuo paused. "You...aren't possibly thinking of joining forces with Viktor, are you?"

It is my turn to look at the blades on my arm. Hmmm...one end is dull. I will sharpen it later.

"I... will find my answer when I meet him."

Yasuo chuckled. "Nice dodge."

After a couple jokes and laughs I leave the room to find Kayn and Syndra. "Kayn." I say to Kayn, who stopped his training immediately and bowed.

"I want you to watch the Order of Shadow while I am gone. I trust you will not do anything rash." Kayn nodded eagerly, the possibility of proving himself to be worth of the next leader was all he could ask for.

" Syndra. I want you to-" "Don't order me around like I'm apart of your cringe gang, edgelord." She replied, harshly. "I'm going too. You think it's fun just tossing your disciples around all day?" And that was that.

Veigar's POV

People fear me for being the strongest dark mage in Runeterra. Stories and rumours have been passed around about me and how I seek to rule the world one day.

And it's 100% true. I will gather as much power as possible in the world so that it may be mine, and when it becomes mine, I will end tragedy, murder, abuse, torture. So that no one will have to go through the same pain the Noxians forced on me.

There are 5 magics that currently exist. Dark and void magic which focuses on distortion of space, arcane magic which is known for its pure destruction capabilities, the elemental magics(more than just fire, water, air and earth) that focus on the mastery of an element of nature, the time magic which only one known person can control, and illusion magic, which includes the ability to shapeshift and clone.

"Veigarrr, Veigarrrr, wake uppppp! Play with me!" Lulu was shaking me.

"Go away" I muffled. Ever since I walked through the forests of Kumungu, this yordle has been following me. It seems she accidentally casted illusion magic on herself and lived the past few years stuck in a trance. So her childlike nature is there despite having fully matured as a yordle. Also, SHE'S SO FUCKING ANNOYING. WHY CAN'T I HAVE AN EDGY AND DARK INTRO LIKE THE REST OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS? I USE DARK MAGIC FFS. I DON'T WANT TO BE THE COMEDIC CHARA-

Authors note: Please excuse Veigar for a second while I fix his character.

I'm currently making my way back to Bandle city from the Shuriman Desert where I have found many artifacts to further my knowledge of Dark magic. I haven't been back to that place since for 5 years, and now I am 19. Whether they will welcome me with open arms or cast me as an outsider, I will figure out when I get there.

Aurelian Sol's POV

Aurelion Sol's POV

Fear. A word I do not feel nor understand, and nor should I ever. As the God of all stars, all look up to me. At leasts thats how it should be. Ever since Targon has forced upon a crown on me, I have become powerless, smaller, and weaker version of my old grand self and now linked to this mortal realm. I long for the days I roamed freely with the stars.

Its ironic, they pray to me everyday but keep me imprisoned. They keep me high up in the sky, above the clouds. They pray to me for everything, money, victory, power, and I have no choice but to comply with the best of my now-reduced power. For the past 500 years, I have gotten used to my imprisonment and the constant demand of these greedy Targon's. But something is shifting now. Out there, someplace, something is cracking. I do not like it. I believe it's called...Fear.

As I look out the only hole in my cage into the distant night where the stars do not grant their light upon, I feel a strange shattered presence of time unrelated to Zilean somewhere near a place mortals call ...Zaun? It's that kid again. Bard should've dealt with him already... but where is he? I feel a shudder of fear. Something is not right. Where is Bard? The jingle of his bells and meeps should be clear and clattering the sky, but it's deathly silent right now. Unless the void...? No. It shouldn't be possible... but then again I am no longer there to support Bard. It's a possibility.

I must escape. I must gather the other gods. The seven darkins, the ascended , the fire born, the mistborn, the demigods, the most powerful mages, and the timekeeper at Piltover. Aatrox, Rhaast, Varus, 4 missing others, Nasus, Renekton, Xerath, Lissandra, Brand, Ornn, Volibear, Ryze, and Zilean. I know they are not the best of friends, but this is no time for personal squabbles. I have heard of an entity named Kindred, but only those on the brink of death meet her so her existence is questionable. There was supposed to be an ascended named Azir who definitely would've helped me but he is gone now.

I must hurry and escape. Bard is gone. I am next.

.

This is the link to the map I base this story off of.


	2. Ch 2: The story begins

Azir was sitting in the interrogation room of Piltover with Nasus and Sivir, with 2 police officers, Caityln and Vi, watching them. After his arise in the fallen ruins of Shurima, a man named Ezreal has led them to Piltover.

"So your telling me...that your a god and an emperor of a place of Shernia?" Vi asked, for about the 3rd time.

"Shurima. And yes." Azir replied. _Patience._ He told himself. _Patience is a virtue._

Vi turned her attention to Ezreal. "Ezreal are you SURE you didn't bring back some crackpotted bird brain from your adventures? I mean his heads a damn bird! Maybe his brain's the size of one now too?"

Ezreal snorted. "Since when do I bring back things that aren't useful or magical?"

"Well I mean you did bring back a pink dildo last time, thinking it was an ancient magician's wand."

"You're telling me you didn't find it useful?"

"Touche, touche."

Vi never denied truth.

Caitlyn sighed. This was dumb and she had more things to deal with than just golden self-proclaimed mummy that clearly had a delusional disorder.

Caitlyn asked Azir. "Whats in the bag?"

"Sand." Azir said.

"Sand? What for?" Caitlyn asked, confused. Not only was this guy delusional, his head was probably filled with sand.

"I use sand magic."

Magic?! Mages were rare in Runeterra, only chosen ones at birth were able to learn magic. There was only one mage in Piltover, and they resided in Zaun. Sand mages used to be the most popular magic to learn, but after the fall of Shurima, the practice had died off and disappeared. Caitlyn didn't think anyone used sand magic anymore.

"Alright then, let me see it." Caitlyn said. She didn't believe that this guy could use magic, but she wanted to make sure. Letting a mage go out in Piltover could be like setting a god into a room full of religious people.

Azir shook his head. "No. My sand magic is not for entertainment. I must conserve my mana, for I am currently in a weakened state."

 _Ok, he wasn't a sand mage, just another delusional idiot._ Caitlyn thought.

"Azir, if that's really your name, what are your intentions?"

Azir replied. "Well, I'd like to gather an army of followers first. Money is not an issue."

Sand magic was also known as magic of the wealthy, for it could transform sand into gold and pearls. But Caitlyn was 100% convinced that he couldn't use it, so she set the last part aside, and asks "Let's say you do bring Shurima back, do you plan to continue slavery?"

Azir scoffed. "Is that what the textbooks say about me? Does nowhere mention that I freed the slaves? Even before that I gave the slave's families a good amount of gold, educated their children, gave them 3 days a week to relax, and treated them like equals! Hell, my right handed man, my brother, was a slave..." Azir stopped. His brother was a traitor.

"Anyhow." Azir regained his posture. "I do not plan to continue slavery."

Caitlyn didn't show a single change in emotion. "Alright then, you, you're great great whatever child, and your big dog guy are free to go. Try finding a job first."

Vi put her hands behind her head and leaned back, stretching. "Welp. If that's all, I'm out. I just got a message from a police officer in Zaun that 2 buildings got blown up. It's probably Jinx again. Gotta go deal with her shit now, Ezreal nodded. "I have to head back to Demacia too. I have some matters there."

Ezreal nodded. "I leave this man in your care now. I must leave now too, I have matters in Demacia."

Vi smirked. "Lux?"

"Shut up."

As Azir left the building and headed outside, he took a good look at the City of Progress. There were people of different races, the buildings were all up to date, the whole city gave off the air of progress. Everything was beautifully clean, and the city probably looked like a star to the stars in the night sky. It truly was a well done place.

"Hoo, this place really is clean." said Sivir, who had only experienced the life of crime and thievery.

But Azir was an emperor, and he knew that for every great city there is a impoverished one behind it. As he saw Vi walking out, now wearing these gigantic gloves, with an unknown man, Azir walked up to her. Vi paused and looked up at him.

"What do you want, big bird? Go play in the sand or something. The playground has a sandbox, its around 3 blocks from here, to the left."

Vi said. "I got shit to do."

"Wait." Azir said. "Bring me to Zaun. Those people drift around each day without a purpose, having their lives compromised everyday. They are poor and impoverished. A nation cannot only have one side wealthy, this nation will not stand, no matter how powerful or wealthy this side is. As an emperor, it irks me to see this."

Vi sighed. This guy is a mess of work. "Alright alright, big guy, you can follow me to a certain point. If you die in Zaun, don't resurrect again just to haunt my ass. Try anything funny and me and Jayce will shove some big hextech weapons up your ass, got it?"

"Ready to blow some shit up?" Ekko asked Taliyah.

Taliyah had left home at the age of 14 and learned to control her magic powers from Yasuo for around 2 years, but when she returned home, she had found her village captured by Noxus. As such she now resides in Zaun, to find information about Noxus and save her family. She has now been living with Ekko for the past year.

Ekko had found Taliyah the night his last parent, his mother, had died from the air pollution in the factory she worked in. The sad Ekko was quite surprised when he found this strange outsider lost in Zaun. Her money had been stolen and she was clumsy as hell. She clearly knew nothing about Zaun, and so Ekko took her in to prevent some more dangerous stuff from happening to her, and hoped that she wouldn't see Zaun as trash like the Piltover people did.

Now that they live together, they get closer everyday, and Jinx had started to fade from Ekko's mind.

"Of course, " Taliyah said. "Although why are you carrying green spray paint? That wasn't part of the plan."

Ekko smiled mischievously. "You'll see."

The target was a couple abandoned buildings near the outskirts of Zaun. These buildings took taxes from the Zaunites and provided no use as they were too old, dirty, and fragile. If Ekko destroyed them, new ones could be built in place and Zaun would no longer have the burden of paying for them, plus the bonus of government having to pay Zaunite workers to rebuild a new building. Only problem was, this was the first time Ekko was doing something this large of a scale, and not grabbing attention of police while doing it will be complicated. But they had planned this out for a couple nights now, and there was no going back.

Taliyah casually walked by a police force form Piltover as he headed toward the narrow alleyway that led to the abandoned building. When the police looked at her, Taliyah casually smiled, nodded at the her, and kept walking. While Ekko's name and face was quite well known throughout Zaun, no one knew about Taliyah.

Little did the police officer know that Taliyah had grabbed her attention in order for her not to notice Ekko hopping between the rooftops above her. Ekko was an expert climber now that Taliyah had taught him how to scale rocks.

Unfortunately for Ekko, there was oil on one of the edges of the rooftop and he slipped and fell off. Normally this would be a huge problem, but Ekko merely rewinded and started again. It was nice having infinite tries.

Once they had reached the abandon buildings, they set their plan in motion. They knew that the moment the buildings collapsed, the police force would be over there in seconds. They also knew that there were police strolling around these buildings. Taliyah could've used her magic to collapse the buildings instantly, but that would mean the destruction of the land, and that would make it impossible for new buildings to be build. So Ekko had prepared some hextech explosives in advance, rigged so that they all detonate at the same time.

Taliyah thought they only had one chance, but Ekko knew better and so he was more relaxed. You can't get work done if you're too tensed up. Taliyah knew Ekko could rewind himself back to previous positions, but she did not know Ekko could rewind time itself. It was not as if Ekko didn't want to tell her, it was more like he didn't exactly have proof. It didn't really matter anyways, Taliyah wouldn't notice. The thought of that made Ekko feel lonely because it mean't that he was truly alone in this world, but he could have those depressing thoughts later. He had business to do right now.

After sneaking around the first officer, Ekko planted a bomb in the dumpster behind one of the buildings. Signaling Taliyah a thumb's up, Taliyah used her rock magic to scale up a second building where she placed a bomb on the second floor. 2 more buildings to go. These two was where the police officers were currently sitting at. Despite Ekko not liking the Piltover people, he knew that he shouldn't kill them. Detonating the bombs while the police officers were around them could end in casualties. Ekko wasn't like Viktor, killing people to get his way. He needed them to leave the area.

Ekko sprinted past them, turned around, and stuck his tongue out. Recognizing him instantly, the officers got up to chase him. Ekko turned back and sprinted as fast as he can. _It's up to you now, Taliyah._ He thought.

Taliyah placed the remaining bombs where they were supposed to be stationed at and left immediately. As she scaled one of the rooftops of the buildings there were not supposed to explode, she chucked a pebble at one of the officers chasing Ekko. After Ekko saw that one of the officers got struck, he knew it was time to detonate the bomb.

There was a loud BOOM, but the people of Zaun didn't even care. They were used to Ekko and his daily squabbles with the police, Jinx and her constant terrorism, and Viktor with his failed experiments leading to a loud bang somewhere in Zaun.

After the buildings had been scattered, Ekko re-winded himself back to a spot he was at. After memorizing the biggest piece of rubble and which part of the building it came from, Ekko hit the time rewind button, rewinding all the way to the point where the bombs have not been set yet.

Ekko sneaked up to the spot where he knew the big piece of rubble came from, and took out his spray paint. He wrote the phrase "Out with the old, in with the new" so that Jayce, whom he knew would be there, would recognize it was his doing. Taliyah looked at Ekko in confusion and awe and said "How do you know the message won't be hidden in rubble?"

Ekko smiled mischievously once more.

"Let's just say I can see the future."

"Swain! This is urgent news. "

Xerath stopped talking when one of Swain's soldiers burst into the room.

"Katarina and Talon have escaped!".

Swain rubbed his forehead and sighed.

"It was bound to happen, those two are Valoran's best assassins."

Xerath was now concerned. People who Swain acknowledged were all but a few and if they get in the way that would be troublesome.

Xerath asks Swain: "Swain. Who are these two?"

Swain looked up at Xerath. Xerath might not have a face, but Swain could hear the worry in Xerath's tone. Xerath didn't like surprises or sudden outliers in his plans.

"Don't worry. They shouldn't pose too much of a threat. They're just looking for their father, whom betrayed Noxus and left the nation. Since their father betrayed, I was afraid they would too as they were loyal to their father, not to Noxus. So I locked them up. Even if they are skilled, they are no more than assassins, and even if they join Demacia they cannot turn the tide of this battle. Besides, I'm pretty sure they still hate Demacia, so they shouldn't do anything to our plan. The only place they will head will be towards Zaun, and I have connections there to stop them anyways."

Xerath felt a bit more relieved. "And Cassiopeia?" Cassiopeia was also a sibling of those two. She was the one who freed him and brought him here. Renekton shifted on his seat. It seems as if he is attracted to Cassiopeia. Strange, he should only feel rage and anger at his brother. If this emotion becomes a problem, Xerath was unsure if he could kill Renekton, a companion he was trapped with for a millennium.

Swain waved his hand "Cassiopeia is loyal to Noxus. She will kill her sister if commanded so without a second thought."

Xerath fell a second wave of relief. "Shall we continue to discuss our plan of attack?"

 _We are among two of the best tacticians in Runeterra, commanding one of the ruthless and strongest armies. Whatever we plan,_ Xerath, thought, _we would be unstoppable._

Zed's head hurt from the sea sickness of the boat. He had never traveled out of Ionia, and so the waves and the rocking of the boat made it hard to meditate. It didn't help that Syndra was chucking dark spheres at the water causing bigger waves the shake the boat and water kept constantly splashing his masked face. A drunk Yasuo playing his flute with incorrect pitches, making it sound like a dying, screeching, bird that clearly had vocal issues.

"Can you guys like, not?" He asked.

Shit, he never felt so weak and sick ever since his master laid him on a table and whipped his bare ass with a belt.

Suddenly a giant weird monster erupted from under the boat, almost tipping it over. It at least 100 meters big, and had around 7- no, 10 tentacles. Zed had never seen something so huge, except his disciple Kayn's ego. Zed assumes it's because Syndra had been plummeting the water with balls, disturbing such a giant creature. But Zed wasn't going to complain. Such a fight will clear his mind, and heck, he was getting bored anyways.

"Actually, go back to doing whatever you were doing." Zed tells them. "This one is mine."

Zed pulls out the two sharp shurikens slowly from his back, watching the creature menacingly. In one swift motion, he threw them at the beast's tentacles, cleanly slicing one tentacle into 3 parts. A shadow of Zed spawns from the shadow made from the sliced tentacles over each other, and he teleports there. Zed catches the shurikens he throws, and throws them at two other tentacles slicing them both into halves. The creature roared in pain and raised a tentacle to slap Zed off. Spawning another shadow at another tentacle, Zed teleports to catch one shuriken. He then jumps at the beast's face, using the blades on his arms to do a whirling slash. Zed spawns a shadow where his other shuriken was flying to and makes the shadow catch it, then throw it back to him. The beast rocks backwards, unable to do anything as Zed was about to make a finishing move.

But before Zed could make the finishing move, what feels like 5000 balls of energy come flying at him. If he didn't duck at the last second, his head of cleaning came off. Instead, the ball smashed the beast in the fast, leaving a gigantic bloody hole in the beast.

"Syndra! I told you this one was mine. Are you trying to kill me?"

Syndra rolled her eyes. "Yea, yea. I'm bored too you know. Smashing water with balls ain't fun."

She didn't deny the fact that she was trying to kill Zed. She and Zed have fought 10 times, and Zed spared her every time. The offer was tempting.

Yasuo grunted. "Well you guys are gonna have a lot of fun." He grapples the hilt of his sword.

Surrounding the boat was at least 20 of the beasts.

As Veigar approached the the Bandle city gate, he steeled himself for the hate he was about to receive. But to his surprise, the grand gates opened in open arms for him, and at the gate were his old friends. They smiled at him with open arms.

"Veigar, welcome home." They all cheered.

"How did you know I was coming?" Veigar asked, trying to restrain his tears. It would be bad on his reputation as a great dark mage to break down here.

One of his best old pals,Erwin, answered. "We yordles have connections. When we heard the stories about you being an evil mage, we knew it had to be false. Our ol' buddy was way too soft for things like that! Come, let us go celebrate. Oh, and who is this lady? Did you finally get a girlfriend?"

Veigar blushed. "No! She's just an annoying bitch."

Lulu pouted. "Hey! I saved your ass once!"

Veigar grunted. "Yea, but the only reason why I got in trouble was because I was coming to save yours."

Another friend, Lucy, chuckled. "Come, you can have your couple squabbles later."

As they walked down the streets of Bandle city towards a parlor, some turning to see the weirdly dressed Veigar, Veigar noticed a lot has changed. The city has improved. Impoverished places were rebuilt. While Veigar was happy about the new changes, he felt a sting in his heart for the old places he grew up with his friends.

As they headed to a parlor, a group of people surrounded Veigar, all asking him questions.

"Is it true? Is it true? That you're a mage?" Mage yordles were almost unheard of.

"What's the outside world like?'

"What are humans like?"

"What was Noxus like?"

Erwin and Lucy pushed the crowds away from Veigar and Lulu.

"Give them some space, they must be tired from a long journey." Erwin said.

"Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut you can come in the parlor with him if you pay for his drinks." Erwin said slyly.

Veigar quickly spoke "Wait, Erwin, I don't drin-" But the crowd pushed him in.

The bartender looked pretty annoyed because his shift was supposedly suppose to be over but when he saw Veigar, his face lit up.

One of Veigar's other friends, Hashen, went over to the bartender and whispered something to him. The bartender nodded.

"So what would you like? It's your first time drinking, yea? Lemme get something that'll stop you from getting drunk too early."

The bartender pulled out some clear light brown liquid. Beer.

In Bandle city, yordles were allowed to drink after they hit 18. Veigar was around 19.

Lulu took the drink graciously and immediately started drinking. Veigar did not touch it.

"Whash dis?" Lulu asked, dizzly. She was already drunk.

"Haha" Lucy said, taking a sip of her own drink. "This girl has more balls than you Veigar. Still that same old stubborn you, you are."

Veigar stared at his drink. Everyone stared at Veigar quietly, waiting for him to take a drink.

 _Why am I so cautious?_ Veigar asked himself. _These are my friends. My old friends. I guess the journeys have really changed me._ Veigar had been poisoned, deceived, and cheated on in his journeys. It had caused him to put a wall around himself. Veigar took a deep breath. These were his friends. He should just drink.

Veigar lifted the cup to his lips and took the biggest swig he ever did. He downed the whole thing in one gulp, pounded the cup on the table, and said "Give me more."

Everyone cheered. Music started to play around the background and the yordles were chatting amongst each other, having a good time. Yes, it was these scenes Veigar missed so very much. Tears fell down his face, and he laughed. A good, hearty laugh. A laugh he hadn't made for 5 years. It felt good and he felt safe now.

Suddenly, one of his old friends came up to him. Veigar remembered him as being the most silent but also the most cheerful. A smile was always on that person's face, but not this time.

Veigar said, with a smile, "How's it going, Teemo?"

Teemo looked at Veigar directly in the eye. It was scaring him. "Leave, Veigar. Leave while you can. Please."

Veigar was shocked. He forgot that there would still be those who distrust him.

Erwin noticed Veigar was no longer smiling and pulled him over. "Hey bud, what's with the long face now? Come, on drink more. Have some more fun!"

Veigar downed another cup and forgot about Teemo. This was his home now. He felt safe.

At least that's how he thought it would've been.

After a couple more drinks, Veigar felt dizzy and blacked out. When he awoke, he found himself in a jail cell and chained. He tried using magic, but for some reason he could not cast it.

"Wha-What is this? What prank is this?" He called out. He didn't want to believe it.

Erwin and Hashen stepped from the shadows outside the cell, the darkest smile on their faces.

"Did you really think we would just cast aside the rumours of your dark magic, Veigar?"

Veigar didn't understand what was going on. _Please tell me this is a prank_ He told himself.

"The government paid us to get rid of you. Paid a really good price you know? One to let us live the rest of our lives just having fun. Since we can't fight you directly, this was the only way we could get you here. The bartender? We planned. The crowd? We planned. Your such a dumbass, Veigar."

Veigar understood now. He had been drugged. Drugged by his old friends, drugged by the people he thought he could trust. He lowered his guard for even a second, and now look where he is.

Even so, tears flowed down Veigar's eyes. No longer tears of joy, but tears of sorrow. He had been lied to again.

"Why? I'm really not like the rumours. Please." Veigar begged, but he knew it was pointless. He had been betrayed.

Lucy stepped in the room. "This world is moving on, Veigar. The world needs no people like you. Want to know how to make the world pure and happy? You must want to know, Veigar, the rumours have it that you look to rule the world to prevent impurity."

Lucy pressed her face against the jail bars.

"Kill everyone who isn't."

Erwin threw an object in the room. Poisonous gas started leaking from it. His friends opened the door and left the room.

They left him to die.

Aurelion Sol focuses all his might into breaking the chains that hold him, but is unable to. As long as the crown rests on his head, his power is contained by the Targons. Just as he was about to give up and go to sleep like yesterday as it was midnight, he feels commotion beneath his tower. Even though he is high above in the air, he uses his magic to listen in.

"Diana! What do you think you're...?"

"The Sun and Moon can live together in harmony! Why do we only look towards the Sun?"

"Heretic! Kill her!"

A loud clash broke out. Aurelion Sol uses his powers to see what was happening. He wasn't going to miss a chance to escape. But he was disappointed when he noticed it was just one 20 year old girl fighting a group of soldiers. He sighed. The little one will lose and die, another life wasted. He can tell the girl was highly skilled in combat, but not enough skill to take on the strength of the soldiers together. He can feel the power of the sun in the soldiers, the power stolen from him, while the girl had nothing.

Wait. Nothing? But he had blessed all in Targon with power. It was nearly impossible to get to Targon so it was impossible for the girl to be an outsider but her silver hair, her negative energy, felt...strange. What was a moonborn doing in Targon?

White flashes filled Sol's eyes, and he tried to close them, forgetting that he as using his mind to see not his eyes. When he regained focus, the soldiers laid unconscious at the girl's feet, except one girl of the same age who was barely awake and breathing hard. Diana looked down at the girl. "Leona... I'm sorry. Forgive me."

Diana sprinted down the mountain at full speed, but a figure fell from the sky and a warrior whose face was hidden by helmet landed on the ground, creating a massive crater in the ground. Even if Sol was wrong earlier, he knew Diana could not defeat this opponent, for it was an opponent he himself had previously lost to. It was Pantheon, the aspect of war.

But Sol saw the girl as a chance to escape, and he wasn't throwing it away.

"Child. Listen to me." Sol telepathically sends to Diana.

If Diana was surprised, she did not show it. She had to stay calm in this situation.

"I know who you are, I can tell you from your energy. You are Aurelion Sol, the star forger. Tell me, did you send Pantheon to punish me?"

"No, child. I wish to help you escape , but only if you set me free from the tower Targon has imprisoned me in."

Diana barely dodged a spear chucked by Pantheon, and rolled into the ruins of the building she had destroyed when she fought the soldiers.

"Yea? Let's say I trust you even though I am moonborn while you are the sunborn's god. There's no way I can even get up there, let alone free you. You're tower is above the clouds. Pantheon was the one who sealed you there, he's the only one who can get there."

Sol almost smiled. Even though everything was uncertain, he was closer to freedom than he ever was. "Child, I have an eternity worth of knowledge. Follow my instructions, and we can succeed."

Diana snorted mentally. "And why should I free you?"

Sol replied "This is more than about quarrels of the sun and moon. This is about Runeterra. There is something dark stirring out there, and I must escape to stop it."

"The tales have you as a sassy dragon, but apparently you're a dramatic one." Diana sent.

"You're the one being sassy right now." Sol shot back.

"I thought being dramatic would appeal to young girls, aren't they supposed to be angsty or something?"

Diana had a good chuckle despite the dire situation. "Alright. Lets just pretend it worked. What now?"

 **Author's note: There it is, the first chapter f the revamped story done. Let me know if you see any** **grammatical** **errors or if you enjoy these longer chapters than the shorter ones. Thanks for reading :D**


	3. Ch 3: A nightmare, a dream, a lie

Zed stared at the army of gigantic squids. Zed believes they are what people call a "Kraken", and are a pirate's worst nightmare. But Zed's had experience tons of nightmares, and this one was only as scary as having spontaneous diarrhea in front of his disciples.

He was wearing white undies too.

And it was totally 100% just a dream, Zed assures you.

Syndra lazy used her magic and flicked one of the krakens beyond the horizon. The kraken's had no magic resistance, this was just a breeze for her.

Yasuo closed his eyes and reopened them. He was drunk, but could focus enough to skillfully use his sword. If only he could do the same with his flute.

In a sudden, swift move, Yasuo thrusted his sword out, spawning a massive tornado with such force that it sent 3 of the krakens airborne. In a blink of an eye, Yasuo dashed to the location and blinked around, releasing a whirlwind of slashes. He then stopped midair and made a final slash downward, sheathing his sword and landing on the boat like a flower petal. The krakens erupted into millions of pieces midair, showering blood everywhere.

"Yasuo, you were supposed to have your back to the krakens and sheath your sword when they exploded. " Syndra said. "Would've looked more fancy and badass."

Yasuo smacked his forehead. "Fuck, your right. I'll do that next time. Zed, you're up."

But Zed's mind was in a whirl. He had no idea where the massive headache came from, but he could barely stay conscious, let alone stand up to fight. He felt the light leave his eyes, and collapsed.

"Keheheh, I see you've been taking some medication, Zed." A voice said. Zed couldn't see it but could feel the creature moving around him in a circle.

"Trying to hold me down, Zed?" The voice taunted.

Zed knew who it was. It was the one who creates his nightmares.

"Nocturne. Leave."

The voice cackled again.

"A shadow cannot leave the body, Zed. Just as the body cannot run from the shadow."

Nocturne revealed himself but continued to circle Zed.

"Poor, poor Zed. All he wanted as a little attention from his master and now he's the _Darkin of Despair._ "

The last sentence angered Zed.

"I AM NO DARKIN" he bellowed in frustration. "I am still human. Darkins are weapons, I am a living body."

"You're shadows are your weapon, Zed. Go on, try to find your unbalance. Try to find a light with no shadow. Or how about this? Forget the light. Light cannot exist without darkness, but darkness can exist without light. I can off you unbalance, Zed. Just embrace the darkness."

Zed was pissed off now. He lunged at Nocturne, slicing him in half. But Nocturne merely laughed and faded into the background.

"You should take some more medication Zed, you're losing control. Take some temper issue pills along with those, you're losing control of your anger now as well."

Nocturne's haunting laugh lingered as he faded away.

"Zed. Zed. Zed. Zed. Zed." Zed felt a splash of cold water on his face and opened his eyes. Syndra's face loomed over him. She noticed he woke up, blushed and backed away.

Yasuo raised an eyebrow.

"What the hell happened man? Leaving us to deal with those monsters and having to care of your ass? Aren't you supposed to be some cool looking ninja? You didn't look so flashy then."

Zed sat up and rubbed his temples, forgetting that his blades were still on and almost sliced his ear off.

"Seasickness, probably. It doesn't help when I have 2 crazy idiots on the same boat as me messing around."

Yasuo shook his head.

"You can't shake this one off with a joke like you did when I asked you about Viktor. In fact, I don't think you're going to Zaun just to talk with Viktor, now are you? The moment you start joking I can tell you're lying, Zed."

Syndra rolled her eyes.

"Lemme guess, you're losing control of some secret power you've been hiding by taking those pills. And now you need to take more pills and you're running out of them?"

Zed sighed. Why can't this world work like an anime where everyone was dense as hell? But they were right. He was running out of medication. Originally, he had enough to last a trip two times longer, but now he had to take 2 pills a day instead of one.

He was running out of time. He needed to get to Zaun quickly.

There was a noticeable difference as the road led to Zaun. The white glow that Piltover gave started to fade and dust and dirt started to smear the concrete on the floor. The trees around them had died off due to air pollution, and the leaves were all brown and crumpled. Even though it was still the afternoon, the smoke had caused Zaun to look like it was night.

"My lord, this air is a bit too foul for you, maybe you should-"

"Nasus. A good emperor must understand the conditions of his people." Azir did not want to ignore his people like the trash that is his father did.

Sivir rolled her eyes. She's been quiet for a while but golden bird dude has really started to irk her.

"Mr. Shurima, you're not the emperor of these people. I don't even think you'll want to be, this place is foul as shit. "

Azir clucked his tongue. "Talk to your elders with respect, Sivir. "

"Dude, you're like, 26. At least, that's how old you were before you got your assThats literally only 2 years older than I am." Sivir talked back.

Vi stopped walking for a second. "Wait. didn't you have kids? One was 11... WTF?! What age were you-"

Azir cocked his head to the side. "Is that so weird? It was an arranged marriage. There was no emotion between us. We needed another heir."

Vi shook her head. "Never mind." This bird guy seemed more and more unbelievable to Vi by the minute. Definitely brain damage.

Azir didn't hear Vi say that last part, as the streets of Zaun reminded him of something in his childhood. Azir continued to walk forward, with emotion in each stride, as old memories flooded his mind.

Nasus pulled Vi, Jayce, and Sivir back.

"Its best to let him be alone when he does that. "

 **Flashback**

Azir wasn't destined to be the emperor of Shurima. In fact, he was most hated in his family. The emperor said that Azir was too soft and too weak to be an emperor, and claimed that Azir would fail as a soldier. Born from the last wife of the emperor, the only reason why he was alive was because he was the only male child. The other wives had failed to produce a male heir. As more and more children came, luck favored Azir as they were all female.

When Azir was a child of 7 or 8, in order to avoid the intensity and hatred that his father gave when he was looking at Azir, Azir often went to the library. It was usually empty, as Shurima was in war during that time and no one had time to study or read. Azir was struggling to understand the context of one of the books when one of the slaves that was cleaning the library came to help him. A slave talking to royalty without permission meant death. Surprised by the audacity of the slave, who was around the same age as him, Azir named the slave "Xerath", meaning "one who shares". From that day on, Azir and Xerath could be found reading and studying together in the library. Nasus, who was the guardian of the library during that time, smiled upon the friendship when he knew others would not, so he kept the secret and was on the constant look out for people entering the library for them.

One day, during a public event where other nobles were allowed to tour the emperor's palace, assassins had broken in and killed the Shuriman family in cold blood. All except one person, that person Azir. Xerath had used his magic in order to protect Azir from one of the assassin's blade. A slave learning magic was punishable by death, but because Azir was suddenly granted the power of an emperor, Azir banned such a law. Xerath, who was already surprised when Azir prevented his death, was even more surprised when Azir promised that he would make Xerath a free man and crowned Xerath as his right hand man and his brother. The decision left many in shock, and some began to question or criticize the Azir's rule.

But all doubts disappeared when Azir demonstrated his military might and knowledge. People hailed him as a genius as he conquered land after land, and with Xerath's help, he gained full control over all of Valoran at the mere age of 24.

Xerath had been expecting Azir to keep his promise, but when Azir did not free him, he assumed that Azir had forgotten the promise they made. Fearing that reminding Azir may cause Azir to lash out and make Xerath lose his position, Xerath did not say anything, and instead grew a quite hatred for his brother. Azir was unaware of the hatred stirring in Xerath, But he had not forgotten his promise. Azir was just waiting for the day of his ascension to free not only Xerath, but all the slaves in Runeterra.

When the day of ascension came, everything ended in betrayal and shock. Azir did not expect Xerath's, his closest brother, betrayal, and Xerath had not expected Azir to free everyone before he ascended. And even though tears were shed before Azir's death, and even though there was regret, guilt and pain between the both of them, Xerath had sacrificed too much for this moment and in a bang and a flash, Azir was no more but ashes lost in the sand.

 _Xerath... I won't forgive you for what you did. But even so, even if I'm being hypocritical, I long for your forgiveness._

 **Flashback over.**

Veigar stared at the poison gas seeping from the bomb. Is this where he dies? Betrayed, laughed at, alone? He hung his head down in defeat.

He suddenly longed for someone to connect to. He had lived a year in Noxus in isolation, and although he got used to it, he didn't like it. He needed someone he could talk to, connect to. Lulu flashed in his mind. _Yes. Even her right now is all I could ever want._

When poisonous gas started enter his nostrils and he could smell it, Veigar knew it was the end.

Suddenly, Veigar heard someone yell "ENORMOUS!" and Veigar felt himself grow bigger and wider, to the point where the chains popped off with ease and then his head, then his shoulders, broke through the ceiling. Veigar's head stuck out in the parlor where he was drugged, everyone looking up at him with their mouth's agape.

Looking up at him, with a smile, was Lulu. And looking at him, in shock, was everyone else.

Veigar scooped up lulu, and made a break out of the parlor, breaking down the walls. Despite only being around 2.5 times the size of a normal human, because of Yordle's short nature, he was as tall as houses, and so every step he took seemed to shake buildings. People screamed as Veigar ran by.

Veigar wanted to just blow up the entire Bandle city like he had done with other corrupt cities, but the drug was still in effect and he couldn't use magic. Throughout his journeys across the Valoran, Veigar had yet to meet a drug that could inhibit magic. Bandle city must have gotten a prodigy in alchemy or something.

Lulu's magic had worn off and Veigar shrunk back down the normal size. They found an abandoned alley way and hid behind a dumpster. He blushed, noticing that he was still holding Lulu princess style, and dropped her on the ground.

"Hey! Is that how you should to treat your savior? Its 2-1 now, you know! You owe me!" Lulu exclaimed. Veigar shoved his hand over Lulu's mouth.

"Shhhh" He said. Erwin will call the guards any moment now. They had to stay hidden until he got his magic back.

"Veigar." A yordle figure suddenly appeared from the shadows. Magic?! Veigar tensed up. Had they been followed by an illusion user?

Teemo stepped out from the shadows. "Calm down. It is me."

Veigar found a sturdy wooden stick and grabbed hold of it, pushing Lulu behind him and pointing it menacingly at Teemo. Who was he kidding? Veigar never had to fight physically. He probably doesn't even have the strength squash an ant.

"Don't come any closer or I'll use my magic." Veigar threatened.

Teemo sighed. "You can trust me. I was the one who told Lulu where you were."

Lulu nodded. "Yea, he was."

Veigar calmed down a bit but didn't lower his guard. "Why? Weren't you working with them?"

Teemo stuck his head from the wall to make sure no one was there.

"When I heard those rumours about you, I believed them right away. When the government told me to kill you, that's what I planned to do. But when I saw you laugh and cry, I could see that you were still the same old you, maybe a bit more crooked, but definitely not cruel."

Teemo smiled, the same cheeky old smile he gave when they were younger.

"Listen, Veigar. Tristana has already set a place where you can stay. I want you to know that Bandle city isn't corrupt as you think it is. The people here aren't so bad. So please, don't destroy this city. I trust you not to."

Veigar lowered his guard. "What will you do now then?"

The smile on Teemo's face went from cheerful to downright creepy.

"Well. Remember what Lucy said? That the best way to get rid the world of impurity was to kill all that were impure? Don't you want to make them eat their words?"

Veigar hesitated. Sure, he was angry and he had leveled cities before, but to kill...

"No. I don't want to become like them. I'm not a murderer."

The cheerful smile on Teemo's face returned. "I knew you'd say that, Veigar. I'm just going to hold them off until they give up. Stay here for now until Tristana arrives."

After those words, Teemo saluted Veigar soldier style, and left.

Suddenly, Veigar realized something. _Teemo wasn't there when Lucy, Erwin, and Hashen were talking to me... How did he know what Lucy said?_ To be able to achieve this kind of stealth... Teemo was really extraordinary.

Little did Veigar know, the whole incident was staged. As Teemo walked down the street, he spoke into his radio:

"Veigar was a failure: He does not have the motivation or the will to kill, even when granted the option to get revenge. The good news is he poses no threat to Bandle city, the bad news is, we'll have to put him under some training in order to get him to join the Omega Squad."

 **Author's note: Sorry guys, no Aurelion Sol or Ekko this chapter. I have encountered a problem with Ekko's story and am trying to think of how to deal with it right now. I also have realized that Aurelion's Sol's story is much too long and will fall behind with the other champion's stories. So I will have a chapter, probably the next one, dedicated entirely so Aurelion Sol can catch up.**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	4. Ch 4: Freedom

Chapter 4

"You're plan is fucking crazy." Diana sent to Sol. "You want me dead don't you."

Sol snorted. "While that wouldn't be half bad, you being dead won't help me escape. When you're facing a bull that's charging straight at you, logic won't help you dodge. You need to grab creativity by the horns with all your will and might."

Diana mentally rolled her eyes. "That's the most retarded thing I've ever heard."

But Diana knew Sol was right. In scenarios like this, there was no logical solution. Diana steeled herself under the moonlight and took a deep breathe to calm herself. _Oh, the moonlight goddess, please give me your blessing,_ She thought.

"There's a better god right here you could pray to and this one is listening to you, heretic." Sol sent to Diana, hearing her prayers.

Diana ignored Sol. This was no time for jokes. She stood up from the ruins she was hiding from so Pantheon could see her.

Upon spotting her, Pantheon immediately charged like a bull, except he was running much, much faster.

Normal people would've jumped or screamed or did whatever to get out of the way, but Diana did not move, nor did she draw her blade. She was going to take this bull by the horns.

Once Diana was in stabbing distance, Diana leaped onto Pantheon's spear as he tried to jab her, and did a downwards kick towards Pantheon's helmet. Anticipating the kick, Pantheon held his shield above his head to block it. Buckling his knees and noticing the opportunity, Pantheon prepared to jump into the air. Having centuries of fighting experience, Pantheon was quite used to fighting mid air while in most cases his opponent was not.

But unknowingly to him, Sol had baited the Pantheon to take flight.

Most people would've been scared shitless by the idea of fighting 2000 meters above the ground, but Diana was not. Even if she was deemed a heretic, she was still from Mount Targon. She had no fear of heights.

Pantheon jabbed right and left in the air, with speeds that made it near impossible to watch, and Diana struggled to block his blows. She noticed that it was much harder to move around mid-air, and her sword was not designed to block pierces. Trying to parry blows was near impossible, as there were no solid ground to keep Diana and she would get constantly pushed back. Every time Pantheon struck, Diana gained a new cut. However, winning the fight was not her plan.

When she noticed she was level with Sol's tower, Diana used all her force to roll to the side and Pantheon, expecting a parry, was thrown off balance. Taking this opportunity and using the magic granted to her by the moon, Diana threw an arc of light towards the tower, specifically at Sol. She made sure to tone down the power so that it wouldn't hurt too much, but the fact that Sol didn't even flinch or make a remark about the pain offended her slightly.

The moment the arc connected, she blinked into the tower, in front of the Sol. Out of air and panting heavily, Diana sat down and looked at the dragon. It was the first time she had scene a god in flesh. His half transparent blue body had dots of lights that made Sol look mesmerizing. Sol, pleased with the success, said "Alright now take out the key and free me. Hurry, the Targon soldiers should have noticed the other fallen soldiers and Pantheon will be here any minute now."

Suddenly, Diana stopped panting. Sol had also gone silent. Staring at each other, pale faced, they realized something.

They forgot about the key. They didn't even know who had the key.

Fuck.

As panic flooded Sol's mind, one of the walls blasted apart, one piece of the rubble hitting Diana square in the forhead knocked her out cold immediately.

Standing there was a tilted Pantheon.

 _How did he get here so quickly?!_ Sol thought. _Did my blessing really grant them this much power?_ While in the corner of his mind he was pleased with himself, the rest was cursing at his carelessness.

Pantheon walked over to the unconscious girl, his spear poised to kill. Sol didn't care for the girl, but he had made a promise that if he escapes he will bring her along with him. If she died, he wasn't allowed to leave. Promises were the only thing that could chain Gods, it also was what chained him there as well.

"WAIT." Sol exclaimed. He was desperate, and even if it was useless, he was going to try to reason with Pantheon.

"There is something stirring out there. Please. Let us go, I must stop it."

Pantheon froze. He knew what Sol was talking about as he had felt the negative energy leaking as well. But he didn't care, the only thing he cared for was war. For the first time in centuries, Sol heard Pantheon speak.

"I only care about war. If the void comes, let it be a final battle."

Pantheon lifted his spear and was about to stab the knocked-out Diana when Sol's booming voice was heard once more.

"I CAN GRANT YOU ETERNAL WAR." Sol boomed, extremely desperate.

Pantheon glanced over at Sol.

Sol continued. "I need to gather the 7 Darkins, and one of them is known as the Darkin of War. If you let us go and join us, after all this is over, you can fight the Darkin for all eternity. Would you not prefer a battle that lasted an eternity opposed to a final battle?"

Sol really didn't want to bring a puny brained mortal when he already had to bring another, but he was out of choices.

Pantheon walked over to Sol slowly, spear still poised. But rather than bringing it down on the dragon, he slammed his spear into the keyhole and twisted, freeing the dragon of the chains. Pantheon's spear had been the key.

"While you're at it, take my crown off as well" Sol joked.

He knew Pantheon couldn't as a promise was made centuries ago. It was a promise that stated that as long as the Targons worshipped Sol, Sol would grant them power. Unfortunately for Sol, he didn't read the contract carefully and did not see the word "imprisonment". This is why you should read the terms and conditions before checking "yes".

Picking the unconscious girl and letting Pantheon get on his back, Sol flew out into the night sky through the hole Pantheon had made.

Looking up at the stars that were denied him for so long, he made a promise to himself that, even though he was smaller and powerless right now, one day he will return to the sky as the Star Forger.

After taking one last glance at the star's, Sol descended under the clouds so that all of the surprised Targons could see his escape, as well as see his very noticeable middle finger.

With the gladiator that was the aspect of war and a moonborn on his back, a dragon's back, Sol couldn't help but think they looked so badass right now. Damn, he wished he had a pair of sunglasses.

Sol was flying through the fluffy orange clouds that had been illumnated by the sunset when he heard Diana stirring from her slumber. Even if she was granted with new magic, Diana was not used to its power and thus a rock to the head still did quite the damage.

Sol kinda wished that the rock had hit her harder, as he had been flying for 17 hours now and was trying his best not to doze off and drop the 2 to their deaths. If he hadn't made a promise, he probably would've already done that.

"Where's Pantheon?! What happened?!" Diana bolted up suddenly, a bit disoriented. She woke up to Pantheon staring at her directly in the face and made an out of character scream.

"Oh for God's sake/My sake, please don't be so annoying. I've been flying for 17 hours and there's still 24 more to go till we get to Piltover. I don't want to explain right now, but Pantheon is on our side for now. Sorta."

"Why don't you just land and take a break?" Diana asked, still wary of the silent Pantheon.

The dragon snorted. "We are above Demacian lands right now. These people see dragons as enemies, and often capture or kill them for honor. If I land somewhere, I'm bound to attract attention."

Sol added. "Do you know how much attention it'll attract to have a massive blue dragon land with 2 ancient primitives on his back?"

Diana felt offended. "Fly faster then. Aren't you supposed to be a God or some shit?"

Sol sighed. His head hurt. "This journey would take a normal flying animal a month of flying. Have some respect for me, I've lost so much of my power. It doesn't help that Targon is practically isolated from the world."

That reminded Sol. He should probably give the 2 idiots a fair warning.

"Listen, I highly doubt you've been to these lands yet, so let me tell you that the weapons you will see and the cultures in these places will be completely different. Throw away your honor, it will only be a hindrance there."

And like a tsundere he added "I won't be there to save you if you get in trouble, got it idiots?"

Diana smirked. "Awww, mommy Sol cares for us. Will you look at that, eh, Pantheon?"

"I don't!" Sol claimed.

After an hour of foolish bickering, Sol felt unable to fly more. Parasitic useless mortal was sapping his energy.

He lowered the altitude and landed in a jungle. He figured there shouldn't be any big cities in the jungle for Sol to gather attention from.

"I'm going to sleep for a couple of hours. Someone be on the lookout." And Sol fell asleep.

As Diana gathered firewood and plucked berries and mushrooms, Pantheon did nothing. He just sat there staring at a bush.

"Pantheon. Can you go look for some water?" Diana asked.

Pantheon didn't move, still staring at the bush intensely.

"Is fighting all you're capable of? What are you looking at?" Diana asked. She stared at the bush that Pantheon was staring.

Slowly, as if this was a horror story, she crept up the bush. Hesitantly, she parted it. Nothing was there.

 _Is Pantheon autistic?_ Diana asked herself.

Suddenly, like a jump scare, she heard a wild roar from the branches above her and a gigantic creature came flying at her. Lucky for her, Pantheon was quick and blocked the attack with his shield, pushing the creature away. The creature landed on two feet cleanly, and snarled, showing their white sharp teeth.

Regaining composure, Diana demanded "Who are you? What do you want?"

When she looked more closely, she saw that the beast had the body of a human but a head of a lion. It was wearing an eyepatch on its left eye.

The creature smiled. Not a warm smile, but a cold blooded one.

"That giant blue beast that's sleeping there, I have never seen anything like it. I want its head as my trophy."

As much as Diana didn't like the dumb dragon, she needed someway to get to... wait where did she even want to go again? All she asked was to leave Targon.

Diana shrugged.

"You could've just asked. Go ahead, take his head."

Rengar shook his head. "I want a battle. If I wanted just his head, I would've taken it a while ago. I was waiting for him to wake up. Besides, I don't think your friend here likes the idea of me taking that dragon's head."

Pantheon had his spear poised and ready to fight. Sol promised him war, he was not going to let Sol go without keeping that promise. Plus the idea of a battle in an unknown territory with unfamiliar surroundings excited him. Pantheon wanted to fight.

"Kehehe." The beast smirked then snarled. "They call me Rengar, the Pride Stalker. You should know my name as your head will be with me for the rest of my life."

The moon was coming up again as the sun was fading. Pantheon put an arm in front of Diana, telling without words that she was not to interfere.

Rengar let out a mighty roar and charged.

"You have a warrior's heart. I think I'll take it!"

As much as the fight had been hyped up, a random creature in the forest was no match for someone who had centuries of fighting experience. After 3 good trades, Pantheon kicked the creature in the stomach in one swift motion, breaking a couple of ribs. To Diana, the anticlimaticness of the fight made it extremely hard to not laugh. If Sol was awake and saw this, he definitely would've laughed.

As Rengar lay panting and groaning on the grass, Pantheon walked over to him. But rather than killing the creature, Pantheon showed mercy, something that Diana was unaware Pantheon could do.

Pantheon himself didn't know why he spared the creature, but as he looked into the creature's eyes, he saw himself. Their love of war, their love of battle, and their tragic past that lead them to the twisted version of who they were now sparked something in Pantheon. Rengar and him were one in the same. It bothered Pantheon to such an extent that, he suddenly felt a pang of sympathy and pain, emotions that he casted away centuries ago.

"Kill me." Rengar said. He could not bear the shame. He did not want to live so humiliated. But Pantheon shook his head. Just as Pantheon bended down to take a look at the wounds, the creature growled, swatting his hand away.

"Is it because you think I'm too weak to die in your hands?! Do you dare look down upon me, human?"

Rengar growled. His old tribe had said he was too weak and rather than killing him like in tradition, they spared him and casted him away because they thought he was not worthy to even die as a member of the tribe. He was picked up by a glorified hunter, who had spared Rengar because he thought Rengar was so weak he did not deserve the honor of dying by his blade. After his master kicked Rengar down a ravine and told him to hunt and fight for himself, Rengar spent everyday and every moment struggling to survive. 5 years later he went back his old tribe hoping for acceptance only to find that his tribe as actually extremely weak and cowardly Out of anger, he killed the head chief. After that, he found the hunter that had deemed him too weak and beheaded him in a fair 1 v 1. Rengar was known for collecting trophies from his prey, but Rengar deemed both his tribe and his old master as so weak, they did not deserve to have their heads or teeth sit in his trophy room or on his necklace. The fact that this warrior was sparing him in what feels like the same way his old enemies did angered him beyond belief.

As Pantheon was about to say something, a spear from the bushes nearly took his head off. Pantheon jumped back and gripped his weapon tightly. From the bush came a lady wearing cougar skin.

"Let him go." The lady exclaimed. Pantheon nodded and backed off. He didn't have the intention to kill Rengar anyways. The lady put an arm around the gasping creature who did not want her help but could not fight against her in his condition and dragged him away. Pantheon knew they would meet again, but today, he was done fighting. He never thought the day would come when he didn't want to fight.

He walked over to Diana and spoke, the first time Diana ever hearing him speak.

"Get the food ready. I will go find some water."


	5. Ch 5: War in Runeterra

****AUTHOR'S NOTE: There is a scene in this chapter that may require you to take a look at the Jarvan is Leblanc theory. Just google it and you'll find a bunch of results. There is even a picture from Rito themself that supports it.****

Azir stopped walking when he saw the pile of rubble that lay ahead of him. In big, neon green letters, read

"Out with the old, in with the new."

Azir felt a strong, firm grip on his shoulder and was pulled back.

"That's as far as you go, mister." Vi said. "This is a crime scene now. Go somewhere else, but be careful, we won't be there to save your ass." She sounded serious and stern.

Azir took it with a note of caution. He didn't think Vi could sound serious, which made the situation all the more serious. Zaun must really be a dangerous place.

But there were children growing up here. There were the sick and elderly amongst this place. If they can survive here, Azir can for one day. He will not ignore them like the previous emperors did.

As Azir headed toward the main streets of Zaun, he heard the man next to Vi say ""These buildings were old, vacant, and a waste of space before their destruction. The terrorist must've wanted it gone so new ones could be built that serves purpose. In doing so it would also force Piltover to pay some Zaunites to rebuild more buildings. This wasn't Jinx's doing, she's not smart enough for that. Its that brat again. Does he really think Zaun has a future?"

Vi yawned. Caitlyn keeps working her butt off and she didn't want to deal with Ekko today. "I don't want to deal with that guy today. The paints fresh, he should still be near here. He's all yours, Jayce. Don't go beating people around."

"I should tell you that, muscle head." Jayce knew Vi's history with Ekko and knew it wasn't the best idea for the two of them to meet, even though Ekko's been trying to draw Vi out for weeks now.

Azir didn't know what kid they were talking about as he was walking away, but he had respect for the person, even if Vi and Jayce didn't. To fight so hard for a part of a nation that is failing gave Azir motivation to keep fighting for Shurima.

When the Azir reached the end of the alleyway, his 5 senses were flooded. There were a multitude of noises from people laughing to people screaming to people crying. He could smell fresh bread from bakeries mixed with potent chemicals spewing out of laboratories. The air tasted of blood, iron, and smoke and the parts of skin that were not protected by his armor stung in contact with the air.

But most overwhelmingly, was the sight. There were roads, left, right, above, below him in every direction possible, neon graffiti sprayed all over buildings, ladders and balconies hanging off walls, and mechanical monstrosities being built all over the place. The smoke had blocked out the sun, and the only light were the green tints from windows, the torches that hang from the walls, and the luminescence from the graffiti. Even though it was still in the middle of the day, it felt like it was an eternal night here. The whole place radiated differently from Piltover; while Piltover radiated the aura of "progress", Zaun radiated "energy".

In some ways, Zaun was more magnificent than Piltover.

All heads turned to look at Azir as he strode down the roads of Zaun. While they had seen tons of experiments gone wrong and people with animal parts, a gold armored bird was not something they see everyday.

Azir had no plans to try to bring some of his influence to Zaun today, but if there was an opportunity, he was going to take it. Azir raised his hand and motioned people to follow him. While some shook their head and continued to work, most began to crowd around behind Azir, curious as to what birb was up to.

After an hour of parading down a couple more roads, the crowd had amassed to around 1000 people, and with the rumors flying about for Azir's parading, the crowd had grown to over 10,000. Even the people who originally had no intention to follow Azir stopped their work and went to go take a look.

Azir then, with his magic, leaped onto the highest balcony to look down upon the crowds. He could see that there were leaders amongst them, a machine monstrosities following a half robotic man, cloaked men following a floating woman with silver hair, Piltover police officers led by Vi, whom was confused where such a large number of people were going. But a large number of people did not align themselves with a leader. Good. There were still people Azir could put under his wing.

As an emperor, he was used to being stared at in different ways. Some stared at him with fear, some with awe, and others with distaste and anger. However, only a few people did not look away from his gaze when he stared back at them. One of them was teenage boy with a silver mohawk stood across him on a balcony just as high, as if to say he was no lower than Azir. When the boy noticed Azir's gaze, rather than diverting his eyes, the boy leaned back against the wall, smirked, crossed his arms, and lifted his middle finger. _He looks just like Xerath,_ Azir thought.

Now it was time for the speech. Azir lifted his hands to the side, like a cross. The murmuring, impatient crowd went silent.

"I know what you are all thinking. Some of you look towards me with fear, as you believe I hold power in Piltover. Some of of you look at me with anger, for Piltover is the reason why you all suffer. Others of you..."

Azir paused to turn his head toward another side of the street.

"stare at me in annoyance, for you've heard people come here over and over again proclaiming change your nation which you believe they know nothing about."

Azir slammed the end of his staff on the balcony floor, leaving a small a crack in the floor.

"HOWEVER. Let us forget the standings we have, the rankings society has placed on us. Let us look to the future. When you see that future, what do you see? Do you see the sun rising above the clouds or descending below the horizons? You may ask me, what point is it for how you look at it? The sun setting or rising is beyond your control. "

Azir slammed the end of his staff on the balcony floor one more time, increasing the crack on the floor. He raised his hands dramatically once more.

"BUT THAT IS FALSE! FOR EVERY SUNSET YOU SEE IS MERELY A SUNSET IN ANOTHER PLACE. All you must do is pick the right side."

Azir paused, letting the words sink into the crowd.

"Yes I understand. You cannot trust a stranger that is from noble blood. You have heard messages like this over and over again, but not one mentioned you individually. The greater good is pointless if half the people live in poverty and the other half in greed. Masses need more than just words to move them. "

Azir opened the sack he had been carrying and displayed the sand for all to see.

"THIS IS WHAT YOU ARE. No more than sand in a desert, blown by whatever direction the wind blows you, one grain in many."

Azir threw the sack into the air, spraying sand everywhere

Suddenly, Azir cast his hand out and then in midair he used his magic to turn the sand into gold and pearls

"BUT NOTHING IS SET IN STONE. Sand is the proof of it, it is the result of withered stone! It is with time gold can be found in sand! It is with pressure sand can become pearls!"

The torchlight reflected on the gold and white surfaces of the riches, casting a magnificent glow. In the center of the glow was Azir, and to the speechless crowds, it was like seeing the sun they had lost in the polluted cities of Zaun.

"YOU ARE THE SAND. THE STONE IS THE PAST. THE SAND IS THE PRESENT. YOU MAY JUST SAND NOW BUT YOU WILL BE THE PEARLS AND GOLD OF THE FUTURE."

Azir slammed his staff on the balcony one more time, breaking it on purpose and he fell to the floor, level with the people he presented to. It was a way of showing that he, himself, was no more than they are, just sand in the hourglass of time.

The speech ended with the sound of clattering of gold and pearls on the ground. And despite being poor and impoverished, the citizens of Zaun did not move to pick up the gold and pearls. They did not make a sound. All that could be heard was the machinery in the background and the riches clanking against the hardfloor. No one moved to clap. They just stood there,staring at Azir in awe and respect.

"So? Aren't you going to tell us your secret power?" Syndra demanded. Zed shook his head.

"There is no need to know. It is not of importance." He said.

Yasuo disagreed. "This isn't for your good, this is for ours. We don't need you going psycho dark powers on us. What is it you hide from us and your disciples?"

Zed sighed. There was no use trying to hide it, they had basically figured him out. Besides, maybe if he told them they could help him. He pulled a nearly empty bag and took out a bluish glowing ball.

"These are the pills I consume. They prevent the advance of me becoming the darkin, Nocturne.

He added, in shame, "It is the result of my younger greed."

Yasuo nodded. Zed could tell he was surprised, but Yasuo's face showed calmness. Syndra, on the other hand, did not look so happy.

"And so? How much time do you have left?" Yasuo asked.

Zed shrugged. "Given that there are 15 pills and I must take 2 a day, probably in a week's time. This boat trip will only be 2 more days, but finding the pill maker will not be easy. I have to hurry to Zaun."

Yasuo shook his head. "That's not what I mean. Clearly you need to consume more and more of these pills as time goes on. The darkin inside you is building a resistance to it. There must be a time when no amount of this drug can help you then. When is that."

Zed looked up to the now-moonlit sky.

"I... Don't want to worry about that right now."

Syndra didn't look very happy. She seemed angry almost. "I'm going to bed." Was all she said before she stormed into her own cabin and slammed the door.

Zed was confused. "Syndra?"

Yasuo's serious face broke out a sad but cheerful smile. He pat Zed on the shoulder.

"Women, man. Don't bother, you'll never understand them. Shall we head to bed?"

Yasuo's smile had relaxed Zed. "Nah. You go to bed, one of us has to keep a look out." Yasuo nodded and left.

As Zed sat underneath the full moon, he closed his eyes in meditation.

Suddenly his meditation was interrupted with a splash of water in his face and and he saw a half woman-half fish body carrying a staff on the deck. Zed blinked twice. Did his pill have side effects of hallucination? He didn't think so.

"F-F-Fooooooood." The creature groaned out.

Yasuo and Syndra came spilling out of their rooms, Yasuo with his bushy hair down, so his hair was basically a giant black afro that blinded his eyes, and Syndra, who's face was red from tears.

"Who's there?" Yasuo yelled swinging his blade randomly, almost removing Syndra's head from her body.

"Food. Please." The creature begged once more. Zed took out some unfinished kraken flesh and cooked it over a fire and gave it to the creature. The creature shook its head "No, not fish."

"Do you really have the option to be picky right now?" Zed asked.

The creature frowned. "Well, would you eat a human?"

"Well, we eat cows and I think my genetic relationship to a cow is about as far as yours with a kraken."

But Zed took out some mushroom stew he had made earlier. After the creature had finished eating, it conjured a body water to help itself float and introduced itself as "Nami".

"If you're done eating, get off the boat." Syndra said, threateningly. "I am not in the mood to deal with fish right now."

Zed shook his head. "Don't listen to her, she's just a bit moody right now. Where are you headed?"

Syndra slapped Zed across the face at that comment and walked back into her cabin. Zed had been slapped so many times now he didn't even care. But Nami stared at Zed with a strange face. _Is he into BDSM?_ She thought pervertedly.

Nami was unsure whether they could be trusted, but as they had given her food, by her people's tradition she was obligated to tell them.

"I am headed to Zaun. I am looking for the chosen one of the moon, for only she can save my village."

Zed was confused. "How do you know she'll be in Zaun?"

Yasuo answered for her. "Just as I follow the wind created by storms, she follows the tides pulled by the moon. "

It was never quiet in Demacia. The busy streets, the laughing soldiers, even at night time the nation was awake.

So when the first blast of arcane energy smashed through the gates, people shrugged it off. Then came the second blast. Some people screamed as piles of bricks flew everywhere, crashing into the cities like meteors falling from the sky. Then the third. The tower in the palace that the royals lived in blasted into smithereens, showering the sky. 3/4 of Xertath's arcane bolts had been used.

Suddenly, the Noxian army began to teleport into the royal palace via a ward that had been placed down. Xerath had been preparing this battle for a month, and the current Jarvan, one of Demacian's generals, had been killed months ago, was replaced by Leblanc, regarded as the strongest illusion magic user, who shapeshifted her face and body. Jarvan and Swain were equally intelligent and powerful when they clashed during the battle a few months ago, but with Xerath's intervention, Jarvan was helpless.

 ****Author's note: If this sounds like total bullshit that I pulled from my ass, check out the Jarvan is Leblanc theory(google it)****

In seconds the Royal family was brutally murdered. Xin Zhao, who standing next to Jarvan at the time, was shocked by the transformation and attempted to fight back, but he was no match for Leblanc's magic. An enraged dragon that once was Shyvana attempted to fight back, but Urgot, the leader of the small army, slaughtered her with his axe.

Demacia was thrown into chaos, but regained their composure almost instantly. Armies led by General Garen had surrounded the Noxian army that had teleported in. Because teleporting costed Xerath an insane amount of magic, only a thousand of Noxian soldiers were there. However, Xerath planned this all along. All small great things come with small sacrifices. He unleashed his final arcane bolt from the safety of the Noxian empire, killing the closest demacian soldiers as well as his own soldiers. _Urgot, I thank you for this sacrifice_ Xerath thought.

It didn't stop there. What would happen next would make some soldiers wish they had been killed by the bolt of energy. The bolt of energy had broken the vases the Noxian army had been carrying, causing a large amount of toxic gas to leak out. These chemicals had been imported from Singed, and their quality and toxicity was so high, anyone who made skin contact with it had their fleshed burned and chemicals entering their bloodstream, killing them slowly and painfully. Not only that, but once infected, the person's breath would breath out the chemicals, causing the nearby soldiers to become infected as well. It was a toxic, melted, bloody bath of pain, fear, and despair. It was green and red hell.

Even though the other generals, including Swain himself, looked away in disgust, Xerath didn't dare close his eyes. As disgusted at the scene he was, he was more disgusted of himself. He did not allow himself the glory or comfort of looking away from the pain and suffering he had inflicted. But he had no regrets. What must be done for the greater good of equality and justice, must be done.

Demacia's fall did not end there. Some soldiers managed to escape the poisonous hell, only to meet with the bigger Noxian army that took this time to surround Demacian from all 4 sides. This battle was over, and it ended with Demacians defeat.

What had been regarded as one of the strongest nations in Runeterra, fell in hours.

 _ _Azir... I won't forgive you for what you have done. But even so, even if I'm being hypocritical, I long for your forgiveness.__

 **Author's Note: I may not be able to post daily like I said I would for the old story since the school week is starting, I have to worry about college applications and shit, and I plan to make these chapters longer. Sorry the for the short Zed scene and no Veigar, Ekko or Sol scenes. Veigar and Sol will show up next chapter but Ekko still will not(sorry for the Ekko fans, I'm still working on how to deal with Ekko.) If you see any problems with the story, please write a review, even the smallest grammatical error will help. Or if you like the story, because your support means alot to me. Thanks for reading |=3**


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